Conversations and Revelations
by Marina Landbough
Summary: Hey guys! I'm back, this is just a one shot for now, who knows, it may go on a bit longer and become two or three chapters. This is set in the Fairy Tail Universe, and it takes place around episode 227 where the girls are in the Bath House and the boys are listening to their conversations. It'll start after they've been talking for a while and deviates from the plot really quickly.


Hey guys! So, before I forget again, I don't own Fairy Tail! Hope you enjoy!

* * *

"So Lucy," they heard Cana say.

"Yeah?" The blonde replied, sounding curious.

"Is it true Natsu felt you up?" Cana asked, sounding sly.

Everyone sweatdropped at hearing her say that. Freed froze while Laxus stayed impassive, used to hearing these kinds of things from Cana. Max, Nab and Elfman all regretted listening, while Romeo sank partly under the water, embarrassment clear on his face. "Boy am I glad my old man and the others aren't here," he said, a grumbling tone in his voice.

They heard Lucy stammer and say, "C-Cana! It wasn't like that!"

"Oh come on~!" Cana said sweetly.

"Stop~!" Lucy shouted, sounding desperate.

"Cana!" Lucy moaned, clearly embarrassed.

They laughed as they heard a thump and a groaning Cana. "Damn Lucy, that hurt!" They heard her say, pain in her voice.

"Of course it did! Do you know how many times I've had to kick my team out of my house cause they broke in? Or how I kept suitors away at the parties that my father made me attend? Well, back then I had other means but…" the guys looked at each other. They had completely forgotten that she had come from money. Freed looked up at this, not realizing that she had grown up like that.

"What was her last name again?" He asked, sounding curious.

"Heartfilia wasn't it?" Romeo said, going a little out of the water.

Freed gasped. "That is Lucy Heartfilia, daughter of Layla and Jude Heartfilia?" He asked, sounding awed.

They nodded, wondering why he was acting like this. They waited, but got no answer, and went back to listening as they heard Lucy say, "now stop joking around! Don't ask me questions like that! I don't see Natsu like that, he's more of a brother to me. And if we're going to talk about relationships, need I bring up a little thing between you and a certain…." But she was muffled by someone, obviously Cana, putting a hand over her mouth.

The men shivered at the tone Lucy's voice had taken. It was pure evil and they felt chills go up their spines. Note to self, don't get on Lucy's bad side, or she'll be scarier than Erza. "She's really not into Natsu? I was sure, especially after he was the one who brought her here," Max said, scratching his head.

Everyone nodded. Most people in the guild thought there was something between the two, but apparently not. That was news to them. Their thoughts were interrupted by Cana shouting, "WE'RE NOT TALKING ABOUT THIS LUCY! I THOUGHT WE DISCUSSED THIS!"

"Hey Cana," Mira asked, her matchmaking voice in high gear, "who was Lucy talking about?"

"No one Mira," Cana said quickly.

A little _too_ quickly as it turned out. They heard Lucy let out a mirth filled laugh as Cana started to stutter out, "well…. erm… you see… umm… me and ummm… me and Bickslow are… er… we're kind of a thing."

The guys weren't sure what to laugh at. Cana being flustered for once, or the deep red blush that was coming over Bix's face. They heard the girls gasp and they looked over to Bix, but he refused to look at them. "So," Laxus said, lazily opening an eye, "you and Cana eh?"

He nodded and mumbled out, "errr, yeah."

"Good job man! Cana's a hottie too!" Max said, grinning slyly at him.

Bickslow was saved from responding from a shriek coming from Mira. "CANA! How long has this been a thing?!" Mira sounded like she was choking.

"About a month now…" Cana said, sounding wary.

They were about to hear Mira's reply, when they heard the door open and saw Gajeel walk in, a towel wrapped around his waist. "Gajeel, you're just in time! We just found out that Bickslow and Cana are a thing now," Elfman said, grinning at the still blushing Seith Mage.

"Nice catch man," Gajeel said, grinning slightly at the man.

"And, Natsu and Lucy aren't actually a thing," Romeo piped up.

"Eh, I coulda told you that Romeo," Gajeel said, sliding into the water.

He was about to say something when they all heard Lisanna say, "so, how'd you guys keep it a secret?"

It appeared everyone was wondering that and Cana said, "the same way Elfman and Evergreen have kept their relationship a secret. We just don't tell anyone. The only reason Lucy knows is from one of the times I broke into her house. And don't give me that look, your team does it enough that you should be used to it at this point. Anyways, I accidentally slipped out that I'm seeing someone and she demanded answers and I was a little afraid she'd call out that scary mermaid spirit of hers or Virgo, the one who's always asking for punishment, so I told her and…. Yeah…." Cana explained.

The guys weren't very surprised at the fact that Elfman and Evergreen were together, they had all known for a while, and the man in question made no move to correct any of them, and was instead grinning like a loony. "Man, with everything coming out tonight, I wonder what we're gonna find out next!" Nab said, laughing at the looks on some peoples faces.

Laxus had become more interested once his teammates had been mentioned. He did have a soft spot for them, and he cared about how they were doing, despite his menacing appearance. They heard Mira say, "oh, I knew about Evergreen and my brother being together. She's even been over to dinner a few times! I've pretty much known they were gonna get together from the whole thing on Tenrou island!" She sounded rather happy and had a dreamy tone at the fact that her brother finally had a girlfriend.

There was a round of laughing before Mira continued by saying, "what really perplexes me though, is if Lucy and Natsu aren't a thing, who is she into?"

Though none of the guys would ever admit it, they were interested to. They all thought Lucy was an awesome person, for various reasons, and they really wanted her to be happy. She was truly, as some people suggested, the Light of Fairy Tail. They heard Juvia say, "well, Juvia hopes it isn't Gray-sama! Juvia and Gray's love will transcend time!"

They all felt bad for Gray, what with how she stalked him and all. The girls started laughing as the guys heard the door slam open and someone shout, "yes! We've found the baths!"

They turned to see that the new arrivals were none other than Gray, Natsu and Happy. "Hey guys! Hey Natsu!" Romeo called out, waving to them.

"Hey Romeo! Awesome baths huh?" Natsu said, grinning and jumping into the pool.

Happy said, "aye sir!"

They laughed at Happy's words. That was the cute little Exceed for you. Gray and Happy slid into the water just as Lucy started to say, "Juvia, you don't have to worry about me and Gray. Natsu is my best friend and Gray's like the brother I never had growing up. Besides, I know that he does like you. He just won't admit it, cause he's afraid of losing someone else that he cares about."

Natsu stared at the ceiling and Gray blushed a furious red and jumped at hearing Lucy say that. Never had he expected that to get out. "Gray, do you actually have feelings for her?" Gajeel asked, looking at him, shock on his face.

Everyone knew that Gray was often uncomfortable with how Juvia acted. "Ermmm… yeah, a little," Gray admitted.

Natsu laughed and asked, "so, do they know we can hear them?"

"Nope!" Nab said.

"Oh and Natsu, since when are you and Lucy not a thing?" Freed asked from where he was.

Natsu looked down at him, surprise on his face. "Huh? Me and Lucy? Naw, she's my best friend! We don't see each other like that!" He said, looking at them all.

They shrugged and looked up as they heard a door slam and laughing from the girls. "I guess Juvia's going to look for Gray now," Cana said, still giggling.

"I think I'm gonna stay here for a while," Gray said weakly.

They laughed at him. "I do hope they become a couple though," Lucy said. "I see Gray like a brother and I hate that he's hiding his feelings for her. I know she really loves him and yeah, she can be overbearing at times, and a little weird at others, but she just wants him to notice her."

Gray sunk into the water, feeling more and more embarrassed by the second. "And Mira, speaking of couples, has Laxus made a move yet?" Lucy asked, sounding evil.

Laxus blanched and the guys laughed. Was he really that clueless? "Dude, why are you surprised?" Bickslow asked, looking at his leader, "everyone in the guild knows that you guys are too stubborn to realize that you both have a thing for each other."

Laxus just paled a little bit. "There's no way in hell Mira would ever be interested in me," and though he tried, Laxus couldn't keep that little worm of hope from his voice.

He was stopped however when he heard Mira say, "t-t-that's not important! He's always either sulking in a corner or out on a mission. I highly doubt that he notices me or is interested."

Laxus's jaw dropped. Mira actually liked him? He hadn't missed the wistful tone in her voice either. Hmm, maybe it was time to think about making a move on the beautiful white haired take over mage. The other guys in the room sweat dropped at the expression on Laxus's face. "Now, stop distracting me Lucy! What about you? I'm trying to figure out who you like!" Mira said, and both boys and girls laughed at how determined Mira sounded.

"Say, Lucy," Levy asked, sounding curious. "I know you said you don't really like Natsu like that, but, why is that? I mean, you guys certainly have a chemistry, and you seem perfect for each other!"

Lucy sighed and in a sort of nonchalant voice said, "look guys. You've gotta understand that me and Natsu are just friends. But I also love him like a brother, and he means the world to me. And anyways, how I feel or don't feel about any one person doesn't really matter. Who would really be interested in me anyways? Most everyone's already in some sort of relationship anyways. Or, they're just denying it for themselves like Gray and Juvia, or Natsu and Lisanna." Said people blushed and looked shocked. "What? Me and Natsu/Lisanna?" They both cried.

Lucy smiled and said, "yeah, if you could see the looks you guys give each other when you think you aren't looking… anyways, there's also Cana and Bix, Ever and Elfman, Romeo and Wendy, though that one may take a few years to happen," the men roared as the young fire mage sunk below the water, blushing a violent red, "Mira and Laxus, Kinana and Erik, Erza and Jellal, Levy and Gajeel," again, said people blushed and exclaimed, "what? N-no way! There's no way he/she would like me!"

Lucy laughed and said, "you guys are just too stubborn to realize it. I promise if you actually asked the other how you felt, there'd be at least three new couples by the end of tomorrow. But, you see my point? A lot of people are in relationships now, and if they're happy, then I'm happy. I have my spirits and you guys. That's plenty of relationship for me. And, I'll say it again. Who would want to be in a relationship with me?"

There was a long, long silence after what Lucy had said. Suddenly regaining his voice, Bickslow managed to ask, "did Cosplayer just ask who would be interested in her?"

The others just shook their heads in wonder. Why would Lucy think that? Gray and Natsu looked at each other, worry on their faces. "You think everything's okay with her?" Gray asked, looking at the ceiling.

"I don't know. I don't think she'd have ever admitted that if she knew we were listening," Natsu said, looking a little sulky.

"Lucy," they heard Lisanna say in a very flustered voice, "me and Natsu aren't a thing."

Lucy just laughed and said, "Lisanna, honestly, I'm telling you that you guys are perfect for each other! You both have feelings for each other, so why not admit it?"

Natsu and Gajeel looked at each other and Natsu said, "mates?"

Gajeel nodded and said, "I think so…."

They heard a slamming door and realized that Lisanna, like Juvia, had gone to find the boy of her dreams. "What do you mean by mates?" Max asked, still reclining against a rock.

"I'll explain it later," Natsu said, sounding distracted.

The girls had been laughing since Lisanna had left. "Good grief, tomorrow there'll be more new relationships than we can handle!" Mira said, sounding rather happy at this fact. "So many babies…"

The three guys blanched at what Mira was saying, but decided not to think into it. The silence that followed was awkward at best. They were all trying to think of why Lucy might say something like that. She was actually really good looking, and she had a lot of friends, and many guys they knew who would kill to be her girlfriend. Romeo was thinking about her helping Natsu save his dad, Gray was thinking about their first mission together as a team with Erza, Happy and Natsu were remembering when they had met her, and they happy look that had been on her face when she joined the guild, Gajeel was remembering how she had forgiven him for what he had done, as were the three Thunder Legion members. The other guild members were thinking of all the things they had been through together, and still, "I got nothing guys. I can't figure out why she would say that." Natsu said, sounding defeated.

The next person who spoke was Mira, who, sounding concerned, asked Lucy, "hey, Lucy, is everything okay?"

There was a pause before Lucy said in a fake, bright voice, "yeah Mira! Everything's great!"

The three dragon slayers frowned. "Why's she lying?" Natsu said, sounding a little upset?

The other guys nodded, wondering how the conversation above had gotten so dark. Cana ended up saying, "girl, don't lie to us. What's going on?"

"Huh? Oh, it's nothing. Look, I should probably get going now, it's getting late and all. I'll see you guys at the guild tomorrow!" Lucy said, sounding a little frantic now, obviously not wanting to talk about it.

A second later, they heard a splash and Cana saying, "nah-ah, you're not going anywhere until you tell us what's wrong!"

Lucy sighed again, clearly not wanting to be there. "O-okay. Just…. Okay, look. I've just been… having some doubts lately. I mean, after everything that happened with Eclipse, and then all the way back to the whole Phantom Lord incident," Gajeel winced at that and the others weakly glared at him. "I'm not strong, in fact I'm rather weak, both magically and physically. I mean, come on! I couldn't even beat Flare, and I should have been able to defend myself against Minerva! They say I'm on "fairy tail's strongest team", but you know they say that a good team is only as strong as its weakest like and I think we all know who that is. Honestly, if you were to ask I couldn't tell you why they keep me around. Hell, half the time I need to be saved and the other half I'm pretty much useless because I've either lost my keys or can't fight anymore because I was taken out early because I'm so weak. I'm nowhere near as strong as my celestial spirits, and in comparison to the guild, I'm probably the weakest member. I mean, think about it, we have four dragon slayers, three take over mages, Gray with his Ice Magic, Cana with her Card Magic, the entire Raijinshuu are practically untouchable, Gildarts, even Laki and Max, they all are good fighters but me… take away my whip and my keys, and I'm useless," Lucy said, sounding sad and ashamed that she had just admitted that.

The girls were silent and the boys could only imagine the looks of horror on their faces. "Did she just… did she just say that?" Romeo asked, astounded that someone would worry about that, especially a Fairy Tail member.

"Lucy…" Natsu whispered, desperately wanting to comfort his hurting teammate.

"Natsu, how did we miss this?" Gray asked, choking a little.

"I-I don't know Gray," he said, sounding oddly down hearted.

"Her being weak is far from true," Freed said, making them all jump.

"What do you mean Freed?" Laxus asked, looking behind him.

"Well, you see, Celestial Wizards are actually very powerful. It takes a lot of energy to open a gate, let alone a silver one. And now, I'm told that she can hold two to three open, and still have enough energy to cast the spell Urano Metria, one of the celestial spells. If you were to measure it up, holding open two or more silver gates is equivalent to Natsu using Dragon Force, a single silver gate is equivalent to one of Laxus's more powerful lightning blasts, and a single gold key requires as much energy as Erza going full power, twice, which would be using all power from her normal magic container and her second origin all at once. I can't even imagine how much power she would have to have in order to have two open," Freed explained, finally joining them in the water.

They gaped at him, and heard that Levy was finishing an explanation very similar to that. "How is she that powerful, and worried about being weak? And, more importantly, why is she worried about being on our team?" Natsu asked, sounding upset.

"Levy, I know what you're trying to do, but, it's okay. You don't have to make me feel better. I'll survive, as I normally have, and just go about my life like it always has been. Alone, but surrounded by family," Lucy said.

Every single person who heard her say that felt a pang of sorrow rip its way through their heart. Where were these words coming from? She had always been so bright, so happy. How did she hide it so well? "Lucy, who is it that you like?" Levy asked cautiously.

"It doesn't matter," Lucy said shortly.

"Yes, it does. We all want to see you happy, and so does the rest of the guild. If you keep this stuff inside, and keep forcing yourself to be alone, it's going to eat you alive and none of us want to lose you," Mira said kindly.

"Guys, really it doesn't matter. I'll just go on like I always do, being my smiling self no matter what happens. Just the way I always have," Lucy said, sounding sad.

No one knew what to say. The silence that followed was defaning. Everyone, even the Raijinshuu, wondered how they had missed her behavior. The dragon slayers were especially concerned. They should have been able to tell. Laxus felt particularly bad that he hadn't noticed anything, and he was the one who always noticed everything. He should have known better. How could he hope to call himself a future guildmaster when he could even pick up on the subtle nuances of the members of said guild? "Lucy, please… can you just tell us who you're interested in?" Cana asked, sounding rather serious for once. "Please, we just want to help you. You've done so much for all of us. You kept fighting even though you were hurting during the Phantomlord Invasion, you were willing to turn yourself in so we would be safe! You were the one who got us to stop fighting and destroy the Thunder Palace during Fantasia while we were all just sitting there arguing. You saved Loke from fading and being lost forever, you helped save Erza from the Tower of Heaven, you beat a freaking member of the Oracion Seis! You basically saved everyone when we were trapped in Edolas, and before you say the Dragon Slayers did all of the work, you did a lot to help them get to where they needed to be. You stood with us against Acnologia, you helped me get my dad back Lucy. You saved all those Celestial Mages in the whole Zentopia incident! Yeah, you were beaten in the GMG, but you got back up and kept fighting! And then, you helped close the gates so they could be destroyed! Not to mention, you survived fighting an evil version of Virgo who was hell bent on punishment, which is a feat in itself. How can you say you're weak after all of that?"

Cana's voice was wavering now. "So, please," Cana said, barely loud enough for them to hear, "who do you like Lucy?"

They heard a long intake of breath before she answered with something they couldn't make out. "WHAT?!" Cana screeched.

Obviously, she had heard what Lucy had said and was shocked by it. They heard a splash and Lucy frantically asking if Cana was okay. They couldn't quite make out what she said, but they heard Mira say, "Lucy, who did you say?"

"Well… ermmm," Lucy said, sounding embarrassed, "I uhhhh… I may or may not have a crush of Freed…"

Every single jaw dropped. The girls stared at the blushing, fidgeting girl and were all internally happy that she had lost the sad look. The men looked at each other, then at Freed who was sitting up, a look of shock on his face. "Freed?" Levy asked, sounding equally shocked.

Lucy was still blushing furiously from her admission, and from the looks that she was getting. In the room below, Freed's jaw had dropped and Natsu and Gray were staring at each other, shock on their faces. "M-m-me?" Freed asked, stuttering and blushing.

"Freed?" Everyone else echoed.

Though no one thought it was a bad idea, they couldn't picture why she would be interested in Freed. He was often cold and distant from everyone, preferring to spend his time with his team, Laxus or reading. If anything, they could see Levy falling for him. Romeo, flushing a deep red told them that he was going to head out and was gone in a flash. No one blamed him, after everything that had been said, the poor kid probably needed a while to figure things out for himself. They jumped when Levy asked, "Lucy, why are you interested in Freed?"

"Err… well, I can't really put it into words. I mean, I've always found guys with long hair attractive, and he also has an incredible love for books like I do, and he's very handsome, and mysterious, and yeah, he does obsess over Laxus a little bit," at that the Green-haired mage blushed while the men laughed, "but I think it's kind of cute, kind of like how Juvia is with Gray but on a much, much lesser level. But, it's more than that. Those are mainly physical traits. Honestly, I knew him before I came to the guild. We grew up together and spent a lot of time together as children. I'm pretty sure there was a marriage arranged for us when we were very young, as our families were both close and our fathers very business minded. After my mom passed away however, his father found out about her practicing magic and he quickly cut off all ties between our families. All contracts of any sort were null and void. Not even three months later, I found out that he had run away. You have no idea how envious I was of him. He had managed to get away from the life, to escape before he was forced to take the mantle and become so involved there was no way out. That was the last time I heard of him until I joined Fairy Tail. I actually left my home a year or so before I met Natsu and Happy in Hargeon," she said, pausing.

Everyone was amazed. A celestial mage who had survived for a year at least before joining a guild? Just another testament to how strong she was. She chuckled quietly and continued by saying, "so, imagine my surprise when, after Fantasia, I learn that Freed Justine, my first and only childhood friend was in Fairy Tail, the self same guild I had been wanting to escape to for years. I remember seeing him sitting with the rest of the Raijinshuu and telling myself that he wouldn't remember me, which he probably doesn't still. That's why I've never really approached him… why approach someone and tell them you know them when they can't even remember who you are? I was just happy that he had finally found a family that he could be himself around. A better one than the one he had come from. And he was happy, so I was content…." A long pause followed before Lucy said, "oh god, I'm sorry guys, I've totally killed the mood, I'm going to get going now."

Apparently, this time no one tried to stop her as a minute later, they heard a door slam. Everyone was frozen from hearing her say that. No one was quite sure what to say, but after a while, Natsu asked, "did you recognize her?"

Freed just nodded numbly and said, "yes, I did actually recognize her. I was under the impression that she did not remember me however, it appears that I was mistaken…"

"Why didn't we notice what was going on with her?" Gray asked suddenly, guilt lacing his voice.

"I don't know," Natsu said, choking on the words a little as he placed his head in his hands.

"We're her teammates, we should have noticed!" Gray exclaimed angrily.

Natsu and Happy just nodded quietly. After they thought for a little while, Natsu stood up and exclaimed, "that's it! I'm going after her!"

As he left the room, Gray got up and hurried after him, muttering goodbyes to the remaining men. Once they left, the others decided to head out as well. They needed time to consider what they had heard. As it so happened, the girl's were leaving at the same time the guys were. When Cana saw Bickslow, she walked over to him and hugged him, an aura of numb shock around her. Bickslow just sighed sadly and picked her up bridal style, carrying her away. At the sight of Laxus and Gajeel, Mira and Levy blushed and ran off to their homes. Seeing this, said men followed them, remembering what had been said earlier. Max and Nab said their goodbyes, leaving a still stunned Freed standing outside, alone.

~Lucy's POV~

To Lucy, the walk back to her house seemed to take ages. She was still reeling from what she had told the other girl's. From breaking down, to telling them her secret, childhood crush. And speaking of Freed, she still wasn't sure how she felt about him being back in her life. She had missed him something terrible, but he had also left her, to years of misery at the hands of her father. She didn't really resent him for it, but still wished with all her heart that he had taken her with him. Knowing that this line of thinking would get her nowhere, she pushed it to the back of her mind, knowing that she had other things she needed to think about.

When she finally got home, she summoned Plue and started to make food for herself. She was drawn out of her thoughts when she saw a gentle golden light and felt a presence next to her. "What do you want Loke?" She asked quietly.

"Are you okay Lucy? Aquarius and Virgo told me what happened at the bath house," he said, wrapping her shoulders in a comforting hug.

"I'll be fine Loke," she said, in a quiet, dead sounding tone.

"Lucy…" Loke started to say.

But Lucy cut him off by saying, "look, I appreciate you coming here, but I need some time, okay?"

Though he didn't look happy about it, he nodded and disappeared. She sent him a silent thank you and saw his key glow a little. She smiled sadly at it. She sat down and just started to eat when she heard a click coming from her room and sighed, knowing Natsu had broken into her house again. What surprised her was the sound of the two chairs across from her being pulled out. Startled, she looked up and saw that Natsu and Gray were sitting across from her, looking serious. "O-oh! H-hey guys! What's up? You're not usually this serious Natsu," she said, curiosity lacing her voice.

"Lucy…" Gray said, looking at her, "we heard what you said in the bath house."

She froze and felt the blood drain from her face. "W-what?"

"Lucy, why didn't you tell us you were feeling like that? We could have helped!" Natsu exploded, suddenly standing up.

Lucy just sat there impassively, looking down at her hands. "I didn't want to burden you anymore than I already do," she said, still not looking at them.

"Lucy, we love you like a sister! Cana wasn't joking when she said everyone wants to see you happy, and that includes us! How could you keep this bottled inside? We want to help you, but it's pretty damn hard when you won't even let your pain show? How many times in the last month have you been injured and not said anything?" Gray asked, looking at her fiercely.

Standing up angrily, she slammed her hands down on the table and yelled, "not everyone can just wear their heart on their sleeve Gray! I don't tell anyone what I may or may not be going through or feeling at the moment because I know that everyone has problems and struggles and they don't need to deal with the added stress of worrying about me! Everyone does so much, and is so powerful! Everyone has had hard lives! And then, me. Just a spoiled, rich brat who had a few daddy issues and a mom who died and can barely hold her own in a fight! What else can I do but keep my silence? With great power comes great responsibility, and sometimes, people just need a shoulder to cry on or someone to listen to them rant! So that's what I do! I stay smiling, I stay happy, because that's what people need to see, to believe! And yeah, I'm not always okay, but that doesn't really matter to me in the end, because as long as my family is happy, _I'm_ happy. My own happiness is irrelevant when that of my family is wavering."

They stared at her, and she realized that tears had started to fall down her face. There was a long, awkward silence. She sat back down and stared determinedly at the wall. Plue gently tapped my leg and she picked him up, hugging him to her chest. "So," she said, breaking the silence, "who else heard?"

"Erm, well, other than me and Natsu, there was Romeo, though he left pretty quickly after you said something about him and Wendy. Max, Nab and Elfman were there, as well as Gajeel, Laxus, Bickslow and… Freed…" Gray trailed off at that, carefully watching my face.

Her stomach dropped when he said Freed's name. "What?" she asked, horror lacing her voice.

"Yeah…" Gray trailed off, rubbing the back of his neck.

She slammed her head on the table, making Gray and Natsu jump. "Of all the people… it just had to be him didn't it…" she groaned.

Natsu suddenly laughed and said, "so, you were serious in what you said about him weren't you?"

"Of course I was!" she practically screamed, looking up at him, appalled that he would think that.

They both chuckled and she felt herself blushing. "Shut up," she mumbled.

They kept chuckling, but eventually, it died down and they got serious again. "Seriously though Luce," Natsu said, grabbing her hands with his, "if you're having trouble, or there's something on your mind, we're all here for you. You don't have to keep it all bottled up anymore. And, I don't think I need to tell you that you're not weak. You're very, very far from it. Yeah, you may not be as physically strong as me, or Gray, or Erza, but you're really really smart, and you always fight with your spirits, and somehow keep up with all of us. That is a feat in itself, not to mention all the stuff you've done that Cana mentioned. Luce, I honestly don't know where you got that idea."

Lucy couldn't look at either of them, and tried to pull her hands out of Natsu's, but he just held on tighter. "I was being serious Natsu," she said between sobs. "I'm weak, and I don't know why you guys keep me around. You heard what I said, take away my whip and keys and I'm useless! Everyone in the guild is so good, and then there's me."

She kept sobbing, even as she felt Gray's arms wrap around her. "Lucy, we've already said, you're like a sister to us. We love having you around and no matter what you say, we don't think you're weak. No one in the guild does. In fact, in a lot of ways, you're way stronger than a lot of us. I mean, if today isn't a testament to that. You said yourself, you could be practically dying, and you would still be smiling and cheering people up. You're the light of Fairy Tail, and no one cares that you have that title because you deserve it. You've given us all so much hope and we honestly don't know how to repay you. You're probably the kindest, most forgiving person all of us know, and we don't know how you do it. We all look up to you, for various reasons. So don't ever, _ever_, say that you're weak. Please. Because it kills us to know that you think like that," Gray said, hugging her tightly.

Her sobs grew heavier as she took in what Gray had said. Natsu just nodded and squeezed her hands tighter. "I-I-I'm sorry guys," she said shakily.

"Don't bother apologizing Luce, you've done nothing wrong," Natsu said.

And then, feeling more content than she had in a long, long time, Lucy felt herself starting to drift off to sleep. In a sleepy voice, she said to them, "thank you so much you guys. You don't know how much this means to me. I'm sorry I made you guys upset, but still, thank you."

And with that, she fell into a blissfully dreamless sleep. Natsu and Gray smiled at her finally peaceful face. "I think it may be looking up now," Natsu commented.

At that moment, they were both finally united under a cause. To help Lucy. She did so much for them, and she hardly knew it. Natsu let go of her hands and Gray carried her to her room and tucked her into her bed. "You know, word of what happened in the bath house is gonna spread like a wildfire right? There's gonna be a lot going on tomorrow. And, I have the feeling that there are two girl's waiting for us to get home…." Natsu trailed off.

Him and Gray looked at each other before paling. It was gonna be a long next day or so.

~At the Guild~

The next morning, Mira, Elfman, Cana, and Gajeel were sitting at the Bar, waiting for Lucy to show up. They were the first ones into the guild that morning, so they were waiting a bit before they started to panic that she hadn't come in. They were sitting in silence until suddenly, Gajeel's head jerked up and he looked toward the entrance. They all looked over to it and their jaws dropped at the sight before them. In walked Lucy, alone, and looking more disheveled than any of them had ever seen her. She was wearing a loose, sweater-like shirt, and a pair of leggings and a simple pair of boots, nothing like her normal attire. She looked tired too, and her hair wasn't in it's usual perfect state. She looked like she was almost, hunched in on herself, as if she didn't want anyone to see her.

She walked over to the request board, looked for a brief moment then picked one up and quietly shuffled over to the bar where they were. "H-hey Lucy," Cana said, looking at her with concern.

Lucy just looked down and said, "Mira, can you sign me up for this mission?"

Mira picked it up and looked at it, before glancing at her and saying, "Lucy, why is this a three month long mission?"

Everyone else looked sharply at her and she explained, "I… I need to get out for a while. It's partially to train and partially to be able to get out so all of this can be forgotten."

"All of what?" Cana asked, confused.

"Last night," was all she said.

"Lucy, I can't give this to you. It's too long and too dangerous," Mira said, frowning.

Lucy just sighed and said, "I need to leave anyways. I had just hoped to have an excuse."

They looked at her. "But why would you leave?" Gajeel asked.

"Because, Freed knows. So many people know now and I need to give it time to settle down and for everyone to just forget about what was said," she said, still not looking at them.

"But Lucy…" Mira started to say, but was interrupted by a shout of, "Lucy!"

They all looked and saw Freed, standing in the doorway, leaning over and panting slightly. He looked up and saw her. "Lucy," he said again, "wait! I know you're probably leaving but wait!"

"Why?" She asked.

"Because, we need to have a talk, and we need to have it now," he said, looking at her.

She didn't look up at him, only asked, "what's there to talk about? You know how I feel, so now I need to leave because I can't bear to live with knowing that you'll never reciprocate the feelings. It's better if I leave now so that things can just go back to the way that they were and this can all just be forgotten."

He stared at her for a long moment before walking up to her, placing his hands on her shoulders and saying, "but you can't just leave. I'm not going to lie and say I don't feel anything back for you. The only reason I didn't approach you sooner is because I didn't know if you remembered me and I was scared you would avoid me. Now, I wish I had said something sooner. I remember how you were, and I've seen you grow since you've joined this guild. It kills me to see you like this and know that I was a part of the cause."

She seems to be still, but when they hear a small sniffle, they realize that her shoulders were shaking and she was crying. Freed pulled her into a hug, and that only seemed to open the floodgates to her eyes. He looked over her shoulder and said, "I'm going to take her home, if anyone asks, let them know please." They nodded and watched as she was carried out, crying and clinging to Freed.

As he walked out, Freed made sure to keep out of sight from anyone until he got to her house. Luckily, her door was unlocked so he was able to open the door. When he got inside, he sat down on her sofa and let her cling to him as she cried. It broke his heart to see her cry, but he knew she needed it. It took a few long moments, but eventually, she stopped crying and moved away from him, refusing to look at him. "Lucy… why did you want to leave?"

"Because, I can't bear to be here with you and not have you feel the same way that I feel about you," she told him.

He just looked at her for a long moment before saying, "Lucy… I do feel the same way about you. I have for a long time… since we were kids in fact."

She stared at him, wide-eyed. "W-what?" She stuttered out, not sure how to react.

He just nodded, smiling gently. "Yes Lucy. I do," he told her.

She seemed to freeze for a while, before launching herself at him and hugging him tightly. "I'm sorry I didn't say anything sooner Freed. I was just so, so scared," she murmured into his shirt.

They stayed like that for a long while, not caring about the world around them or anything that was going on outside of just being in the company of each other. At some point, Natsu wandered in with Gray and Happy, but when they saw what was going on, they just nodded to Freed and left, knowing more would come from it later. Eventually, they would finally admit their feelings for each other and start dating and begin to try and mend the damage that each had had done to the other. But, that's a story for another time.


End file.
